Mossflower

Chapter 5: Stories

It was Wednesday night and the church had gathered in the meeting room of a hotel. The service was over and the kids had retired to a corner by a potted tree with their snacks. Somehow it had become a custom for somebody to tell a story, and tonight Ivey was asked to tell “a funny story” by Aaron.

“Okay,” said Ivey. “There was a mouse that was dirty, so he took a bath. The water filled up the bathtub, but the mouse was still dirty. So he let the water run onto the floor. The water filled up the bathroom, but the mouse was still dirty. So he let the water run out the window. The water filled up the street, but the mouse was still dirty. So he let the water run into the house next door.” By now everyone was laughing. “The people in the house next door cried,” Here her voice rose to a high falsetto, “’Turn off the water! We have had our bath today!’ But the mouse was still dirty. So he let the water run all over the town! The people in the town yelled, ‘Turn off the water! You are very clean now!’ The mouse said, ‘You are right. I am very clean now.’ By then the town was all wet, but the mouse did not care. He went to bed. The End.” (1)

Everyone laughed, and Ivey was asked to tell another funny story, this time about a lion.

“Hmm,” she said. “There was a little lion, and his mommy told him to go hunt. So, since he was a good lion, he went out to hunt. He couldn’t find anything, but then a fly buzzed right in front of his nose. He decided to hunt it, and brought it back to his mommy. His mommy told him to try to catch something bigger, so next time he went out, he ignored the flies and caught a beetle. His mommy told him to please try to catch something the size of a rabbit. ‘I can’t help it,’ he said, ‘I’m only a baby!’”

            “Ivey, couldn’t you tell us Mariel of Redwall?” asked Lauren.

“That’s pretty long, but okay,” said Ivey. Her voice became dramatic. “On a dark, stormy night, a mouse girl was tossed by the waves. She had been thrown there by Gabool the Wild, the most feared searat to ever sail the seas. Washing up on shore, with only her knotted rope she calls her Gullwhacker and no memory of who she is, the mouse gives herself a name, Storm, and with the help of hares and an old squirrel, she made her way to Redwall. Later, an herbalist named Simeon helps her to remember who she is and where she came from. Her name was Mariel, and she had been traveling to the mountain of badgers and hares, Salamandastron, with her father, Joseph the Bellmaker. He had made a bell for the Badger Lord, Lord Rawnblade Widestripe. Their ship was attacked by Gabool the Wild, and Mariel was tossed overboard, and later, her father was too. She sets out for Terramort Isle, Gabool’s stronghold, with only an odd poem for a guide. A few minutes later, she discovered a hidden traveling companion – her friend Tarquin the hare! He walks very fast with her, and at lunchtime, suddenly around the corner, they meet Dandin the mouse. He and Tarquin had set it up. They all continue together and soon they hear someone following them. They hide in the trees and ambush him. They soon wish they hadn’t – it was Durry the hedgehog, ouch!”

Lauren laughed, but everyone else was engrossed in the story. “Then what happened?” asked Aaron breathlessly.

Ivey began again. “Together, the four encounter a killer heron, Iraktaan, skinny little weasels called the Flicthaye, friendly but formidable barn owls, and finally, the badger lord Rawnblade Widestripe.” Here Jessica cheered. “They continue with him to Terramort Isle, where they meet Mariel’s father and the Trag, Terramort Resistance Against Gabool. They lay siege to Gabool’s stronghold. Lord Rawnblade breaks in and Gabool makes him fall into a big pit, where there was a giant scorpion. The Badger Lord throws the scorpion out of the pit and it kills Gabool. As it turns its attention to Rawnblade, Dandin rushes in and kills it with the sword of Martin the Warrior. The bad guys freak out and hide, and all the good guys live happily ever after. The End.” (2)

The end of her story was greeted with applause, followed by a few glances at the grown-ups to make sure they weren’t making too much noise.